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  • Dakota Mayes

extreme rules review

Roman vs The Demon & The Man vs The EST

This year’s Extreme Rules has officially passed. With plenty of great content, we have a lot to cover. So here are the highlights of this year’s night of extreme.


LIV MORGAN VS. CARMELLA


The match happened on the pre-show, but it was a good showing from both ladies. Before the start, Carmella cut a lackluster promo that made me think the producers were trying to kill time, but it got heat and woke the crowd for the match.

They came to life for Morgan, cheering for her practically every time she returned offense in what was a good opening match with a good amount of time. Twice, there was a chant for Morgan. Let’s hope those in the back take notice and give Liv more story from now on. If there was any downside to this bout, it was the overlapping of Spanish and English commentary. It was a little distracting.


THE USOS VS. THE STREET PROFITS


Ford went into this match with bandaged ribs from the beat down he took at the hands of the Bloodline this past Friday. The Usos attacked them relentlessly, and Ford played the underdog well.

After an exciting tag team duel, the Usos were ruthless and ultimately pinned a spent Ford to retain the titles.


CHARLOTTE FLAIR VS. ALEXA BLISS


Ohio hated Charlotte but loved Alexa in a match that was controlled mainly by the champ. Charlotte is a true heel and made Alexa a true underdog. Bliss managed to get control near the end but ultimately lost to the Queen after Lilly was used as a distraction. Flair then threw Bliss out of the ring post-match and destroyed Lilly.


The segment ended with Alexa melting down over her friend's demise as the crowd chanted, "thank you, Lilly." This rivalry will likely continue with a significant change in Bliss. Charlotte was the correct winner for the match as WWE has had a terrible habit in the past few years of giving her repeated title runs that end almost as soon as they begin.


It's become painfully evident that they are trying to get her to match her father's 16-time champion status with meaningless reigns. It's good to see she will continue to hold the title a bit longer. That being said, Alexa is the right choice to take the title off of her, but we will have to see if this happens.


JEFF HARDY VS. SHEAMUS VS. DAMIAN PREIST


Hardy was the clear favorite to win in what was yet another good match, with Sheamus playing into this by keeping him grounded for good heat. By this point, The Celtic Warrior had made himself into the most hated man of the night with his repeatedly blocking Jeff from victory, clearly still bitter from Jeff’s beating him to get into the match this past Monday.


Priest retained the US title and showed his respect to Hardy after the match. The audience seemed fine with Priest retaining, but let's hope Hardy begins getting more attention from here on.


BECKY LYNCH VS. BIANCA BELAIR


In a show of great matches, this semi-main event was no exception—except for the finish. I fully believe this fight could have ended the show. Becky is a great foil for Bianca, who redeemed her humiliating loss to The Man at SummerSlam with an excellent performance. Whenever Becky looked to have the match won, Bianca dug deep and fought her way back with power and resilience.


I would have been okay with either of these two performers taking the victory, but a DQ finish was a bad decision. Sasha’s shocking return appeared to receive no reaction as the crowd remained primarily silent as she assaulted the other two stars. DQ finishes are a common tactic by the WWE to continue storylines, but they are often overdone and come off as lazy. At least we have another great match to look forward to.


ROMAN REIGNS VS. THE DEMON


This was the only extreme rules match of the night. Finn brought a new personality to The Demon that added something new and exciting to the character. Having heard the calls for tables throughout the night, the two men played up the anticipation for shattered wood.

Roman Got great heat in from the crowd while also making Finn look great. I thought Finn should have been a bit more feral and could have played into The Demon persona a bit more in the first half, but I’m satisfied with the new trait at the end. I’m not against how the match ended. It was indeed shocking.


They are clearly going to build towards something with it, and I’m curious to see what it is. This was a great match to end the show. Now on to Crown Jewel.